We will keep this update fairly short and to the point. Over the past 2-3 months, we have been wondering when it might work out for us to return to PNG and thus to some sort of normalcy. We haven’t had much to go on except faith and hope in the sovereignty of God. So where do we stand right now you might ask.
Currently, we have plane tickets that has us departing from Portland this coming Sunday. We have a transit visa for when we get to Australia. We also have a mission plane set and ready to pick us up in the capital of PNG and take us to Goroka. There are two remaining pieces of the puzzle that we would ask you to pray about.
First, our covid tests are at the lab so we are praying that they will come back quickly and that they will all be negative. We all feel great but with covid you don’t have to have any symptoms.
Next, and most importantly, we are still wating for our approval from PNG in order to enter the country. We have heard that they are in process but please be praying that they somehow make it to the top of the stack and get processed before the end of Friday this week. Without that approval we will need to rebook for a future date and that will add weeks to our time here in the US.
Now one other praise. Judith just received her visa extension from the US gov’t. There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that it came in just a few days before we are slated to leave. That being said, thank you to all of you who have been praying for us in the matter. It is kind of funny that Judith and I only have the same resident status when we are in PNG, and eventually when we get to heaven.
One other quick request. Provided that all of the paperwork is in order we will start flying Sunday morning. I just added it up and we will be in the air for about 36 hours and on the ground for an additional 25+ hours. This will be quite the long haul so pray for health and strength.
Lord willing we will write to you again from Lapilo while we recover from the trip and go through our 14 days of quarantine. Or we will write again and let you know what our next God-ordained adventure will be.
In Him,
Eric and Judith, Stephen, Daniel, and Timothy